Prairieland Talk . . .
Scott Death Site Revisited
By ROMAINE SAUNDERS
In company with M. R. Horiskey, none better
at the steering wheel, we drove the highway and
prairie trails into the flat lands of Holt county
reaching to the north pole. Mike and I each set
foot again, by way of rubber tires, on the soil we
once had trod as barefoot pioneer kids in that
magnicifent stretch of prairieland northeast of
O’Neill.
In our kid days fences were
unknown and prairie trails were
made in the direction folks
wanted to go. But this is the age
of the highway engineer and you
follow what he has fixed for
travelers. Four-wire fences ev
erywhere confining traffic to the
section lines. And these fences
keep within bound hundreds of
sleek cattle that have grown fat
on the native grass. It has been
dry the past summer in that sec
tion but the grass is abundant Romaine
and as it cures on the ground it Saunders
puts weight on the beeves. The lack of rain has
meant nothing.
At one time there were many settlers in
that part of the county. Today there are two,
their premises indicating that they are doing al
right on the state's best grass lands.
Mike recalls that his folks were victims of the
1888 blizzard that buried their cattle under moun
tains of snow. They then moved into O’Neill.
Some one has said that the man who first turned
a furrow with a plow out that way ought to have
been shot. Maybe he was. Occasionally a pioneer
bit he dust. And it was at a spot out there where
Barret Scott was waylaid and led to his doom, his
horses shot down, the steel stay of a corset worn,
by Miss McWhorter saving her life when a bullet
struck her. All told, there were five in the Scott
party. The sod walls that concealed the men who
held up the Scott party are no more and where
was enacted Holt county’s last great tragedy the
wind now sighs across the grass-grown spot that
whispered to us of the memories of the long ago.
Some patriot out that way has put a pitiful
reward for efforts to produce a little corn. Why
worry and work over a field of corn stalks when
nature has spread a carpet of grass that puts the
meat under the cow hides. The cattle out that
way, scads of them that would make any old
range rider jump out of his saddle, I was told
carry the Putman brand. The Lamont and Rich
ards herds were once known all over that sod
bound region of the empire of Holt.
But there still lives at the western boundary
of the flat lands the apple trees Mike informed
me were planted by Mike Carroll more than 50
years ago.
Carroll was prairieland's 7 - foot giant, a
warm hearted Irishman who succoured the lost
or blizzard blinded travelers. Tradition has it that
the Custer army on its way to it’s doom up by
the Yellowstone went through just north of the
Carroll homestead. My first night on prairieland
I was lost in that vicinity.
• • • •
State Sen. Frank Nelson had the last laugh.
When a freshman in the state legislature in 1949
he got up and told the veterans of several ses
sions that their proposed blanket tax law was
unconstitutional. Now at the special session that
adjourned September 5, he had the laugh on those
fellows who had put the bill through in ’49 and
were now trying to find a way out for the mess
made by the law the supreme court held to be un
constitlutional. So with a merry twinkle in his
eyes Frank arose and reminded his colleagues
had they done as he told them in ’49, they would
not have had it to deal with this special session.
♦ * * *
An Irish clergyman wilh a gift of pulpit
oratory that moves multitudes who I count as
a friend was traveling the highway with his wife
in Indiana last week when there came the
choice of crashing into a coming car or taking
to the ditch. They took the ditch. After turning
over three times their car came to rest a to
tal wreck. Mr. and Mrs. Joyce walked out
of the wreck without a scratch. "The angel of
the Lord campeih round about them that fear
Him."
v Prairieland Talker came back to his typewriter
after a few days’ sojourn among familiar scenes
which brought him in touch again with warm
hearted friends, many of whom I have known
from those lustre-tinted days of youth on down
through the years and now see them crowned
with the white glory of long life, who have passed
the dazzling splendor of early romance, faced
life’s sterner storms to anchor safely in the haven
of security and serene living as life’s sunset ap
proaches; the young, too, who are fired with am
bition and those who are forever young. And in
addition to the throbbing life of dear friends the
alluring charm of prairieland’s far-flung land
scape touched with the lights and shadows of a
warm September day is irristible. When crimson
tints of sunset fade prairieland lies peaceful under
the silent stars. And those distant stars that
shine above prairieland look down upon the lazar
house of war-torn portions of earth. Some of
prairieland’s boys, fathers’ and mothers’ boys,
have been taken from the peaceful scenes of com
munity life to bleed and die on battle fields. Un
til the last shock of time shall bury the empires
of men in one common ruin prairieland dwellers
may look out and up on the sky at night to be
hold glittering orbs unchanged by the wars and
worries of men.
* * * *
Yankeeland has 17 million TV’s and more be
ing added day by day. Thus there are in the
United States six times more screens available for
you to gape at them all others in the world put to
gether. We have every new thing that gets going,
yet there are still some among us who get their
enjoyment out of the simple things of life, the
gold and purple sunset, the evening note of the
meadowlark, the night call of a mother coyote to
her puppies, the picture on the limitless screen
above when the stars open to our vision the
measureless depth of eternity. TV throws on the
screen a combination of man’s monkeyshines,
partisan hogwash, cigarette and firewater ap
peal and a line now and then of worthwhile
information. Looking out upon nature’s far
flung picture, the sordid things of life fade
away and the soul is lifted to the celestial
heights in contemplation of the immensity and
grandeur of it all.
* * * *
At the entrance to the alley just off Doug
las street at Fi\h O’Neill folks are missing an en
trancing floral picture if they have not taken a
morning off in early September. At the entrance
to tinpan alley the householders have done their
part to invite you to pause and look. At the home
of Dr. and Mrs. J. L. Sherbahn, clinging to a high,
framework the morning glory vines were loaded
with deep blue beauty a morning I passed there
recently. Moving on into the alley it is best to
look the other way when passing the traditional
alley back yard. And Douglas street proprietors of
many of the business places would make it look
more attractive to their doors by cleaning the
sidewalks of accumulated rubbish.
* * 9 *
According to a recent published list, there
are 100 Nebraska towns with bonded indebtness.
Columbus in Platte county has the distinction of
being listed 10 times with refunding and paving
bonds on which balances remain ranging from $3,
000 to $234,000. Three Holt county towns have
outstanding bonds, Page, O’Neill and Stuart, ac
cording to the published list. During August, mun
icipalities issued $235,200 in bonds and school
bonds in the sum of $958,000. To say Nebraskans
have no public debts is not “the whole truth and
nothing but the truth.”
* * * *
Down here in the capitol city Mrs. Mary Ken
ny is doing her darndest to make the American
party go over with a write-in for Gen. McArthur.
The lady’s activties are at least interesting
though the fruitage turns out to be a stewed
crow.
* * 9 9
Senator McCarthy, Wisconsin's fighting
Irishman, won a renomination hands down. His
battle in the senate to elminiate communist
sympathizers in government service meets the
approval of the folks who know him best.
9 9 9 9
Europeans tell us that “men are the boss of
the old country.’ Apparently, and what a mess
they have made of it.
MacArthur, Taft Had to Go
■I -- ■ . .. , , ■ ■ — .— —-——— •
What About Redistricting?
(Sianlon Register)
A subject quite strenuously avoided by most
Nebraska weekly editors has been school redis
tricting.
Apparently the scheme met with such dis
favor from the start that committees appointed
to look into further action found it advisable to
table the whole thing and try to forget it.
Actually there are things about redistricting
that are good. And, by the same token, there are
things about it that are justifiably criticized.
There is no question but that better rural
education could be obtained if a group of neigh
boring schools would join together, build a more
adequate building and lump their students into
larger groups. It is not the exception but often
times the rule for a pupil to be the only member
of his particular grade in the small rural schools.
Such a situation just isn’t favorable from an ed
ucational standpoint.
Putting a half-dozen schools of 10 to 15 en
rollment together would result in one consider
ably better school with a student body of 60 to
65. Three or four teachers would be able to han
dle the students quite capably. The whole thing,
once the building was paid for, would be more
economical than the present situation.
mere are those, however, who violently pro
test redistricting. They feel it is a measure which,
will remove the education of their children from
their direct supervision. In a way it is so. They
also contend that, particularly in Stanton county,
roads are not at all conducive to redistricting. It
• would, of course, be necessary for students to
travel greater distances to their classes.
Undoubtedly the thing has a lot of pro and
con arguments. And it is equally true that both
sides of the question can be favorably considered.
The gist of the matter is whether people
want redistricting and when they want it.
We predict it will come. It may be many
years—and it may be sooner than we think. But
redistricting is a measure which is gradually
gaining momentum and is going to be difficult
to escape.
We find ourselves neither particularly pro
nor con on the question. Our primary objective
is the thought that the right thing should be
done. If redistricting will improve educational
methods, we want to see it. If it is no improve
ment over what we have, we are definitelv on
posed.
Whatever your personal reaction, the ques
ts should receive some serious thought on your
part. Just as inevitably as the sun rises every
morning, the matter is drawing closer to us.
Some day we must make a decision.
E. C. Ertl, editor of the Montreal (Canada)
Financial Times, offered an interesting estimate
of Sen. Robert A. Taft and Republican Presiden
tial Candidate Dwight D. Eisenhower on the eve
of the much publicized Taft-Ike rendezvous:
“We think the general ought to be elected so
that the mortgage on the U.S. government which
specific groups have acquired these past 20 years
can finally be cancelled. He ought to be elected,
if only to prove that Americans have not forgot
ten how to throw out an administration. It is im
portant for Canada too, for we are right next
door. . .
“Americans obviously want a real change or
no change at all. The possibility of a real change
is slim. . . The people who wanted a real change,
the 48 percent of the voters who have not voted
during the phoney fights of Dewey against the
foreign and domestic New Deal: these people
have not much more reason today than they had
in 1948 or in 1944 to walk across the street. . .
We do not think the general will win. He has no
message, except his charm and his personality
and his honesty. . . We doubt whether personal
qualities alone can offset the votes of twenty-four
million recipients of monthly government
cnecks. . .
“MacArthur, the man who called for a
searching of souls—who wants to bother about
Uiat today? — mat man had to go. Taft, the only
man with a set of principles, a set of alternatives
that make sense — that man had to go. . . They
had to go because they had committed the sin
which monstrous internationalism can never for
give. They were, as Americans, for America first.
. . . They have gone, accompanied by the violent
jeering of the press, even of most of the Canadian
press, which makes one wonder, since we cheer
nationalism in the one and jeer it in the other.”
Editorial & Business Offices: 122 South Fourth St.
CARROLL W. STEWART, Editor and Publisher
Established in 1880—Published Each Thursday
Entered at the postoffice in O’Neill, Holt county,
Nebraska, as second-class mail matter under the
Act of Congress of March 3, 1879. This news
paper is a member of the Nebraska Press Associa
tion, National Editorial Association and the Audit
Bureau of Circulations.
Terms of Subscription: In Nebraska $2.50 per
year; elsewhere in the United States, $3 per
year; abroad, rates provided on request. All
subscriptions are strictly paid-in-advance.
REAL ESTATE TRANSFERS
WD—Anna D Newton to Rol
la O Newton 9-11-52 1- E% 19
29-15 Subject to life interest
WD—Nellie M Smith to Fred
D Smith & wf 6-9-52 $75- Part
of SEy4SWy4 20-26-12 36 ft x
26-0 ft
WD—Ira H Moss to Robert E
Miles & wf. 4-30-52. $75. West 10
ft of East 20 ft of Lot 6 Blk H
O’Neill & Hagerty’s Add- O’Neill
WD—Melvin H Held to Donald
L Heiss & wf 9-8-52 $9000- Part
of NWy4SWy4 18-28-9
W—Bert DeGroff to William
Schmohr 9-8-52 $5600- So 127 ft
of lots 13 & 14 Blk 31- O’Neill
WD—John R Papke to Eugene
L Gesiriech & wf 9-6-52 $2650
Lot 9 Blk 22- Pioneer Townsite
Co 1st Add- Stuart
QCD — Lee R Sammons to
Wm D Sammons 11-3-51 $1
NWy4 3-25-14.
QCD—Lee R Sammons to Mar
jorie Sammons 1-3-51. $1. % int.
in sy>sy> 34- NEy4swy4 34-27-14
When You & I were Young. . .
John Zeimer Will
Remodel Hall
Purchases Building
from Masons
50 Years Ago
Grant Hatfield and Sam
Thompson have purchased the
cigar and confectionary store of
G. W. Smith. . . M. Dowling,
president of the O’Neill National
bank, is in the city looking after
his business interests. . . The hose
team went to Neligh where they
raced against the team for a $50
purse. . . John Zeimer has pur
chased the building now known
as the Masonic hall and will re
model it.
25 Years Ago
President F. J. Dishner and
Secretary Peter W. Duffy tell The
Frontier that everything is ready
for the big Holt county fair in
O’Neill. . . The wedding of Ber
nard Matthews and Miss Winifred
Murray was solemnized at St.
Patrick’s Catholic church. . . The
HOA club of the Presbyterian
church is having an ice cream
social on the church lawn.
10 Years Ago
Thirty boys have left for Ft.
Leavenworth, Kans. . . Mrs.
Laura Burk received word that
her son, Robert, had arrived at
San Francisco, Calif. . . Mr. and
Mrs. Max Wanser went to Grand
Island to meet Cpl. and Mrs. Em
mett Carr. . . Weather permitting,
the finals of the city golf tourna
ment will be played next Sunday.
Max Golden meets Allen Jaskow
iak in the championship flight.
One Year Ago
Mrs. Everett Gorgen was taken
to a Norfolk hospital where her
illness was prounced as polio
. . . Mrs. Seth Noble, who 53
years ago was initiated into the
Order of Eastern Star at Plank
jngton, S.D., was honored by
Symphony chapter 316. .. The El
lenwood motor court of Atkinson
sold last week for $60,000.
Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Clark of
Folsom, Calif., and their grand
daughter, Mary Ann Clark, of
Hammond, Ind., spent the week
end with Mr. and Mrs. L. A. Ott. «
Mrs. Clark along with Mrs. Ott
and a number of others she vis
ited while in this vicinity at
tended the Joy school three years ,
1898, ’99 and 1900. Mrs. Clark was
formerly Miss Ollie Morrison.
State Capitol News . . .
Supporters of Senator Taft Not Coining
Around to Full Backing of Eisenhower
LINCOLN—A squabble of big
league oroportions broke out here
this week between two powerful
organizations both interested in
providing more revenue for Ne
braska highways.
Tal Coonrad, young Custer
county supervisor who lives at
Sargent, fired off a blast in be
half of the All Nebraska associa
tion, a group of business and civic
leaders formed to promote Gov.
Val Peterson’s 1948 highway pro
gram.
H. G. Greenamyre of Lincoln,
executive secretary of the BNA,
refused to comment on Coonrad’s
statement which said in part:
“The Better Nebraska associa
tion the past week went on rec
ord as favoring among other
thins the imposition of an addi
tional two-cent gas tax. This
same group carried the ball, so to
speak, when the one-cent addi
tional gas tax was enacted m
law by the 1949 legislature and
they also fought for the contin
uation of this additional one-cent
tax prior to the November, 1950
referendum, but they were de
feated in their efforts.
"Having shot for the clouds
and missed, the BNA is now
now shooting for the moon. It
is absolutely impossible to se
cure the passage of legislation
which would facilitate the ac
celeration of the Nebraska road
construction program by anta
gonizing state senators.
The last statement apparently
was a reference to the fact that
some legislators—notably Arthur
Carmody of Trenton—profess a
hearty dislike for Greenamyre
and HNA. Carmody was the au
thor of a bill in the 1951 session !
to create a highway commission.
He charged the BNA with “sa
botaging” it.
* * *
Good News —
The department of agriculture
had some good news for Ne
braska last week: the outsized
corn crop looks even better now
than it did a month ago. The
department estimates the yield
will be 35 bushels an acre or
247.800.000 bushels, an increase
of more than 7 million bushels
over last month’s estimate.
If the USD A forecast is cor
rect, Nebraska will harvest the
ninth largest corn crop in its his
tory. The 35-bushel yield would
be the second best in the past 60
years. The 1950 yield was 36
bushels.
Other new estimates:
Oats—19 bushels per acre or
47.272.000 bushels, compared with
28 bushels and 60,816,000 bushels
last year and a 10-year average of
27.2 and 61,349,000.
Sugar beets—12 tons an acre or
596.000 tons, compared with 12.4
and 683,000 last year and a 10
year average of 12.6 and 704,000.
Dry beans—1,550 pounds per
acre or 686,000 bags compared by
an estimated 1,400 pounds or 784,
300 bags a month ago. Last
year’s production was 1,250
pounds or 921,000 bags.
* * *
Bad News —
For Nebraska republicans, the
lews wasn’t so good. Party offi
cials are frankly concerned over
ihe failure of the Nebraska sup
porters of Sen. Robert A. Taft
for GOP nomination to come
around to full backing of Dwight
D. Eisenhower.
The problem was flushed pret
ty well into the open at the par
ty’s post-primary convention in
Kearny last week. Traditionally
a love feast with nothing more
controversial than the election of
a state committee and state chair
man to mar party harmony, this
year’s session heard speaker-af
ter-speaker implore the delegates
to forget their past differences
and work together for Ike’s elec
tion.
One of the leaders in the fet
dragging, the party’s finance
committee was told, is Rep. How
ard Buffet of Omaha, uncomprom
ising support of Taft who has
never said he would back Ike and
who reportedly told friends he
would not vote for him.
Finance Chairman Joe Wishart
of Lincoln conceded that Buffett’s
activity has “put the boys in Om
aha on the spot” so far as pick
ing up campoign contriutions
are concerned.
Just how wide the split is may
be seen more clearly at Omaha
today (Thursday) wh*en Eisen
hower speaks at Ak-Sar-Ben
coliseum.
CHAMBERS NEWS
Mrs. Mabel Kelly of Bolivar,
Mo., came Thursday, September
11, to visit her mother, Mrs. Valo
Eawards.
Mr. and Mrs. Ben Medcalf and
children, Bobby and Kathy, of
Sioux City are visiting their par
ents, Mr. and Mrs. E. H. Medcalf
and Mr. and Mrs. E. R. Carpenter
for two weeks.
Mr. and Mrs. Melvin Bell and
daughter drove to Ord on Sunday
to visit her mother, Mrs. Hattie
Richardson.
Sunday dinner guetss in the
William Jutte home were Mr. and
Mrs. Fred Tucker and Mr. and
Mrs. Fred Ermer.
Mr. and Mrs. Carl Bryant of
Norton, Kans., spent the weekend
with their cousins, Mr. and Mrs.
Keith Sexton and Nadine.
Mr. and Mrs. Ernest Jungbluth
and family, his mother, Mrs. Mar
garet Jungbluth and brother, Glen
Jungbluth, drove to Schuyler on
Tuesday, September 9, to visit
relatives. They returned Wednes
day, September 10.
Mr. and Mrs. Joe Kutcher and
John Adams of Austin, Tex.,
came Friday to visit relatives
and friends. They left Monday.
Mr. and Mrs. William Steskal
and daughter, Bonnie, of Emmet
spent Sunday, September 14, with
her brother and wife, Mr. and
Mrs. Ernest Jungbluth, and fam
ily.
Richard Harley has been pro
moted to A/2c. He is attending a
radar school at Biloxi, Miss.
Mr. and Mrs. Roy Backhaus left
Monday for Omaha to take their
daughter, Joellen, to St. Joseph’s
school of nursing where she will
take training. They were accom
panied by Mr. and Mrs. Merlin
Grossnicklaus and children.
Mr. and Mrs. Arnie Mace, jr.,
and son, Richard, were supper
guests of Mr. and Mrs. William
Ritterbush Sunday evening.
Sunday guests in the Roy Back
aus home were Mr. and Mrs. Ed
Boshart and family and John,
Kersenbrock, of O’Neill, Mr. and
Mrs. Lee Backhaus of Amelia. Mr.
and Mrs. Geo. Thomson and Judy
and Susan Thomson of Chambers.
Mr. and Mrs. Weaver Brother
. C
ton of Greeley, Colo., and Mr. and
Mrs. Kenneth Stahly of Milford
came last week to attend the fu
neral services for Mrs. Brother
ton’s and Mrs. Stahly’s brother-in
law, Lee Sammons at Amelia
Dale Perry and Ardell Bright
went to Wyoming Sunday to
spend a few days deer hunting.
Mr. and Mrs. Forest Hopkins
of Los Angeles, Calif., visited his
mother, Mrs. Iva Hopkins, last
week._
DR. H. L. BENNETT
VETERINARIAN
Phones 316 and 304
— O'NEILL —
DR. J. L. SHERBAHN
CHIROPRACTOR
O'Neill. Nebraska
Complete X-Ray Equipment
Vi Block So. of Ford Garage
DANCE
SUMMERLAND
at Ewing
Sunday, Sept. 21
MUSIC BY
SWING KING’S
Orchestra
DR. H. D. GILDERSLEEVE.
OPTOMETRIST
Permanent Offices in
Hagensick Bldg.
O’NEILL, NEBR.
Phone 167
Eyes Examined . Glasses Fitted
Office Hours: 9-5 Mon. thru Sat.
Charter No. 5770 Reserve District No. 10
Report of the Condition of the
O’NEILL NATIONAL BANK
of O’Neill, Nebraska, at the close of business on
SEPTEMBER 5, 1952
Published in response to call made by Comptroller of the
Currency, under Section 5211. U. S. Revised Statutes
ASSETS
Cash, balances with other banks, including reserve
balance, and cash items in process of collection „.$ 843,200.78
United States Government obligations, direct and
guaranteed- 1,965,011.84
Obligations of States and political subdivisions_ 50,201.70
Corporate stocks (including $3,000.00 stock of Fed
eral Reserve bank) ____ 3,000.00
Loans and discounts (including $647.99 overdrafts)_ 523,895.80
Bank premises owned $3,000.00 _ 3,000.00
Total Assets-$3,388,310.12
LIABILITIES
Demand deposits of individuals, partnerships, and
corporations-_$2,812,769.45
Deposits of United States Government (including
postal savings)- 83,342.78
Deposits of States and political subdivisions_ 144,215.55
Deposits of l?anks- 115,027.61
Total Deposits-$3,155,355.39
Total Liabilities-S3.155.355.39
CAPITAL ACCOUNTS
Capital Stock:
Common stock, total par $50,000.00 _$ 50,000.00
Surplus- $- 50,000.00
Undivided profits-^-_-- 132,954.73
* » .— -
Total Capital Accounts-232,954.73
Total Liabilities and Accounts_S3.388.3lfi.i2
MEMORANDA
Assets pledged or assigned to secure liabilities and for
other purposes -JL.- 440,000.00
State of Nebraska, County of Holt, ss:
I, J. B. Grady, cashier of the above-named bank, do solemnly
swear that the above statem mt is true to the best of my knowledge
and belief.
J. B. GRADY, Cashier
Sworn to and subscribed before me this 12th day of Sept., 1952.
L. G. GILLESPIE, Notary Public
(SEAL) My commission expires July 20, 1957.
Correct—ATTEST: Julius D Cronin. F. N. Cronin, Emma Dickinson
Weekes, Directors.
Member of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
(This bank carries no indebtedness of officers or stockholders)
1 —
Beneath that big broad bonnet is the
reason for this headline.
It’s a four-barreled automatic carbu
retor— Airpower by name—which has a
way of gulping in what the dictionary
defines as “a sudden blast of wind” when
extra power is needed.
And the way this gorgeous performer
can step out as this occurs is something
you’ll always remember.
For ordinary driving, two barrels are
all you need — and two barrels are all
that are working. They give you an
extra thrifty flow of fuel for round
town cruising.
When e. 1 power is wanted in a hurry
—the “reserves” swing into action
feeding extra fuel and extra air in an
ever-thrifty mixture, which delivers the
greatest horsepower in Buick history.
This is one of many distinctions that
endear Roadmasters to fine-car
owners.
It’s a car as rich in finish as it is in
power —a car of expansive room —rest
ful silence — level in gait — beautifully
responsive to your mood and will.
And it offers the effortless ease of
Power Steering* especially engineered
by Buick to save your strength in
parking and slow-motion maneuvers,
and still let you feel a proud sense of
command and a sure sense of control
on the highway.
There’s just one question we’d like to
ask: When are you going to come in and
enjoy the ride of your life?
Equipment, accessories, trim and models are subject to
change without notice. *Optional at extra cost on
Roadmaster and Super only.
-WHEN BETTER AUTOMOBILES ARE BUILT BUICK WILL BUILD THEM _- - ,
A. MARCELLUS
PHONE 370_ O’Neill